


Together

by traumaesistenziale



Series: Life Begins Anew [1]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, First Kiss, Jealous Edward Nygma, Jealous Oswald Cobblepot, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Edward Nygma, Pining Edward Nygma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 16:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18742435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumaesistenziale/pseuds/traumaesistenziale
Summary: Edward feels jealous and he realizes he is in love, but he isn't sure how Oswald feels, and he can't seem to find the right moment to confess his feelings. Gotham is in shambles, and war approaches, which doesn't make things any easier.Set in season 5, slight rewrite, but mostly canon compliant."Jim and Harvey looked shocked to see him there, Oswald turned to face him as soon as he heard his voice, and the smile he gave him was the brightest he'd ever seen.They were about to go to war, this probably wasn't a good moment to be feeling the butterflies in his stomach. There were more pressing matters than his feelings for Oswald, but when he saw the way Oswald was looking at him – so grateful, hopeful, proud of him for showing up – their impeding probable death seemed so far away, and that. That smile, that was all that mattered."





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> Season 5... so satisfying, and yet... so unsatisfying. It has a lot of great moments, and a lot of character development (and relationship development), but still refused to make this ship canon. Luckily, here I am with a version of canon events in which they ARE IN LOVE and in which THEY KISS, finally.
> 
> Bonus: two jealous idiots for the price of one.
> 
> Enjoy!

Edward looked at the man who had just entered his workshop, who was holding a rather ugly dummy in his arms and wouldn't shut up about it.

«Oswald, either you make him leave, or I do it.» he said, and he had all the intention to fulfill that purpose.

Oswald, on the other hand, didn't seems at all inclined, and he kept listening to Penn, feeding into his delusions. Edward hadn't had a good feeling about this from the beginning, but as he predicted, or feared, it didn't take long before the situation got out of hand. All with Penn drawing a gun on Oswald, and his incessant rambling about what the dummy was making him do.

One thing, among all, touched some chord inside of Edward. Penn insisted that it was Scarface – yes, that was the dummy – making him do all of this – and it might as well have been true, he of all people knew how commanding a single facet of one's personality could be, whether this facet had a physical form or not, or whether this form happened to be a dummy or anything else.

Although, as insane as he sounded, the things Penn was saying didn't sound unfounded at all. And hadn't it been for the gun currently pointed at Oswald, Ed might have been inclined to feed into that as well, to listen to what Penn had to say, even to agree.

But Penn had gone too far, and Edward couldn't let his guard down, knowing he could decide to shoot at any moment.

Then, something else happened that turned Edward's world upside down, even more, as if the situation hadn't already been surreal enough as it was right now.

«...And yes, I was not a good friend.» Oswald said. It was really something to hear him admit it – but he knew Oswald and he knew he would have said anything to save his life – but then, Oswald turned to him, looked at him in the eyes, even if briefly.

«To you, or to _anyone_.»

That “anyone” was Edward.

His mouth opened instinctively, he couldn't help it. He just stared. For Oswald to admit something like that... For the first time, he was truly hearing him say something that truly sounded like remorse, like an apology. He sounded so honest.

«That's why _I'm alone_.»

He sounded so broken.

«But I saw you for what you are, that must be worth something!»

There it was, the old Oswald trying to save his own life. Ed wasn't surprised, and yet, he couldn't deny that he was right. That was worth something, it absolutely was. When nobody else in the entire world had ever truly _seen_ him, let alone accepted all of him, Oswald had done that.

He knew Oswald was talking to Penn, but he couldn't help like feeling like this was truly a conversation between the two of them instead.

Then he had little time to think, he had to do something. Oswald's plea didn't seem to be working as well on Penn as he was hoping – or as well as it was working on Edward – so he had to act. He disoriented Arthur with a deafening sound. Oswald was quick enough to attack him and the resulting scuffle ended with Oswald shooting the dummy's face, blowing it up in a thousand pieces, and Penn sitting on his lap, apparently rendered free by the dummy's influence, once again meek and timid, directing thankful words at his employer.

That was it, for Edward. The next thing he knew, he had shot that man, watched his body flop down to the floor, while a still shocked Oswald stared back up at him, with Penn's blood still on his face.

If Penn had hurt Oswald, he would have never been able to forgive himself. He knew that man was dangerous, and as long as he was still around, Oswald would be in danger. But there was something else, something that even further prevented him from feeling any sympathy for the man, despite their obvious similarities. Something he couldn't immediately place, because the first name he found for it was too disturbing to accept. Seeing Oswald so happy to see Penn come to his senses, the fact that despite the craziness of the situation, Oswald still chose to shoot the dummy other than the man, hearing Penn thanking him while straddling him on the floor, clinging onto him, all of this made Ed angry beyond reason. Could it really be... Jealousy?

Edward forced himself to remain calm and collected, to appear reasonable and entirely in control, and when confronted by Oswald about the reason he had decided to shoot, he gave a simple, perfectly sensible answer.

«Oswald. I accept you for the person that you are. Just as you accept me for the cold logician that I am. That's why this friendship is great. And as friends... I think we can both agree that that lunatic had to be stopped.»

There, just hard cold facts. Just as expected from a _cold logician_ like him. Had he really used those words? He wondered if he had been convincing enough, and he kind of panicked when Oswald first started to laugh. He couldn't help but wonder what he found so funny about all of this, because he so badly wanted to share his hilarity, but he held back his laughter until he could be sure.

Then, Oswald looked at him again.

«Perhaps, Edward, we really are meant for each other.»

Oswald laughed, openly, honestly. He couldn't hold it back anymore and he laughed too, maybe just a way to alleviate the tension after such a stressful situation.

But Oswald's words stuck with him.

_Perhaps, Edward, we really are meant for each other._

He wasn't able to take those words off his mind, or shake off the feeling that they had instilled in him.

 _Oh dear._ He thought to himself. _Oh, no, no, no._ Oh... That was it, wasn't it? He really was in love with Oswald.

After everything they had done, and done to each other, all the attempts to kill each other, and strip each other of everything the other held dear, after all the blood, the tears, the hurting... All Oswald had to do was to give him even just a smidgen of proof that he had changed, and all those pent up feelings had come rushing back.

Wait. Pent up feelings – that would imply those had always been there, deep down, buried somewhere. Edward thought back to when they first had begun working together.

“ _I hope you know, Oswald, that I would do anything for you.”_

The shock of this realization struck him so hard, he froze.

He quickly dismissed Oswald, telling him he needed silence to concentrate and continue his work on the submarine, but that wasn't the truth, was it? He just needed to be alone to process everything that was happening in his mind, and there was a lot.

“ _I continue to be in owe at you, Oswald.”_

And he still did, all those years later. Oswald always managed to surprise him, one way or another.

 

“ _Edward Nygma. If I wanted you to suffer, I would never do it in some backhanded way. If you, and I, are ever at odds again, you will know without a doubt that I am your enemy. I promise you that... as a friend.”_

 

“ _And if that day comes... I swear to you, I will stare at you in the eyes as I stab you in the heart.”_

 

Oswald had saved his life, asking for nothing in return, in fact, showing nothing but genuine concern and utter devotion for him, and they had begun working together again, as if nothing had even happened at all between them. Picking this friendship up right where they had left it, before everything had gone to shit.

 

“ _This is why this friendship is great. And as a friend...”_

 

He couldn't believe it, but it hurt now to think about those words he had said not more than a few minutes ago.

 

“ _-Friendship-”_

 

“ _-As a friend...”_

 

It didn't sound right. He wanted to be something other than friends. He somehow walked until he reached a chair and he dropped in it, head in his hands, breathing heavily.

Maybe, just maybe, he was panicking a little. Maybe spiraling, but just a little bit. Nothing major, after all, he had just realized _he was in love_ with his damned best and only true friend, a friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend-again.

 

And there was no way that said friend could feel the same way about him, not now. He was sure Oswald had moved on. Sure, Edward was the one who had actually had another relationship in the meantime – although he knew now that even then he hadn't exactly, actually, moved on, but, well. Oswald had let Sofia Falcone play him, surely that meant something. Surely he had feelings for her, that's why she was able to keep him wrapped around her finger – not that Ed could blame him for that. Like he said, it was to be assumed that Oswald had moved on. Yes, he had saved his life, but they were at a point in their relationship where everything between them was so goddamn weird, honestly that just made sense to him. Once all the pieces had fallen back together – Oswald finding him in a pool of his own blood along with the woman Ed was supposedly in love with, and paying Strange to save him – just seemed like something Oswald would do. He had been trying to make amends, in his own way. Edward appreciated that. Trying to build back their friendship was supposed to be a hard journey filled with bumps, but he discovered that instead, he found himself trusting Oswald way more easily and deeply than he thought he could ever do again, and actually enjoying his company more than-- alright, yes. We have already been there.

He was in love, let's move on.

 

Edward pushed this all down. He had a submarine to finish building, and a city to run away from, and a new life to build somewhere else, hopefully in the company of his best friend – and yes, he did spend some time panicking about the idea that once they were done, Oswald would simply go on his marry way, and once out in the world and outside the familiar confines of gotham, it would be much harder to keep track of his movements.

He pushed all those thoughts down too. Sub to build. City to leave. New life to begin. Back to work, he went.

 

It came the day when the submarine was actually done, and quite frankly he was quite impressed with himself. Not that he had ever doubted his abilities, but this was definitely his first time building a submarine from scratch – and he wasn't planning on building more, thank you – so there were definitely a series of unpredictable variables.

One of those, as it turned out, had taken the shape of a very pregnant woman named Barbara Kean, who had been fore-thinking enough to steal a vital piece of their submarine, before rushing to the hospital to give birth, while the city was under attack. Oh, wasn't that just delightful?

Luckily, it shouldn't be that hard to take it back, all they had to do was go to the hospital and harass a pregnant woman into giving back what she stole- yes, okay. This plan wasn't excellent, but they were kind of on a strict schedule, and Oswald was pressing for them to go through with it so they could leave.

Last of his thoughts in that moment, was who he would get to meet again, for the first time since they had quite literally stabbed each other to death, in that hospital. Doctors work in hospitals, right, that was still a thing that was true, even in a city as fucked up as Gotham.

And Lee was a doctor. The doctor who was taking care of Barbara, the woman about to give birth who was currently standing in between them and their only chance to leave Gotham for good.

When he opened the door and found Lee standing there, in front of him, in the flesh, something awoke inside of him. He knew now – how could he not by this point – that things didn't work out between them, and that their relationship had always been based on lies and delusions, and yet. The moment he saw her, he felt like he couldn't just let it be. He had to at least say something.

«For the record, you stabbed me first.» he said.

Lee blinked.

Oswald came through the door, pushing Ed out of the way and stepping in between them.

«You two are quite finished.»

He said it with a smile, but he knew Oswald enough to recognize what kind of smile it was, and what kind of tone he had used. Oswald pulled Edward along, and they proceeded to retrieve what they needed and then... stuck around long enough to help save Lee, but that's irrelevant. It felt right to do, anyway.

The thing that really stuck out in his mind, was the way Oswald had acted around Lee for the duration of their rather short and rushed interactions, before the hospital got attacked and they all had to flee in different directions.

That forced smile, that tone, they way he had stepped in between him and Lee as if to actively want to keep them separated.

Could that be in any way similar to the way he had shot Penn that time? Of course the situations were entirely different on the surface, but could the core emotion that had driven Oswald have been the same that had driven Ed to pull the trigger? What he meant was, could Oswald have been jealous?

He convinced himself that Oswald was doing his best to be a good friend, so of course, when he saw Ed in such a predicament, he tried to save him from a rather awkward encounter with a problematic ex. That was all. It had to be. There was no way Oswald had actually been jealous, except...

When Oswald asked him why he had wanted to stick around if they already had what they had come for, when he realized it was to protect Lee, he looked kind of... hurt? Shocked? Disappointed?

«Do you want me to answer that?»

Ed resisted the urge to explain himself to Oswald, because he wasn't sure he would actually even care, or at least not for the reasons Ed wished he would. So he tried to avoid the topic altogether. It was too difficult for a growing number of reasons and he wasn't ready to deal with any of them. They had a sub to catch, after all. What were they even waiting for?

Besides, Ed figured they would have time to talk about all matters of things, later. After they were both far away from this hellhole and finally safe.

 

Or maybe not, since, as it turned out, Oswald had other plans. Edward couldn't believe his bad luck.

First Barbara, then, what? Right, the goddamned military, or whoever for them, and now Oswald himself!? He really couldn't catch a break. Everyone seemed to be taking a swing at throwing wrenches in his plans. At this point it was more wrenches than plan.

Oswald stood in front of him, and stood proudly too, as he told Ed how much Gotham mattered to him and how he was willing to drop everything to go save this city.

Oswald had convinced him to try to escape by telling him that this city was a prison. Now he was going to give up his only chance to leave it to rush in and try to save it, and risk his life in the process.

This made no sense to Edward. Meaning, it made no sense to him, personally, but if he was being honest, it made sense for Oswald, that he, being himself, would do this. Oswald had always claimed to love Gotham, never shied away from it, Edward simply guessed he never realized how deep that love ran. Or maybe, this was all part of the new Oswald. A man who saves his old frenemy's life without expecting anything in return. A man who is, apparently, willing to sacrifice his freedom and possibly his life, for a city that never fully appreciated him and that in all likelihood will never be as grateful to him as it should.

Ed stood his ground, but to no avail. There was simply no changing Oswald's mind. He was gonna leave him there on that pier, along with that dumb dog who he had named after him, for some reason still obscure to Edward.

He tried to remain composed, but he barely avoided crying in Oswald's face. Especially when he thought he was telling him he would miss him.

«I'll miss you too.»

As it turned out, he was talking to the other Edward, the canine one. Edward swallowed his pride, and something that felt much harder to swallow too, oppressing his throat painfully, a lump of pain, regret, untold feelings and missed chances. And it tasted bitter.

He simply couldn't let that be the last flavor their last conversation would leave in his mouth. He had to make it right.

If this really was going to be the end, he might as well go for it. Fuck it, right? That wasn't logical at all, and every voice in Edward's mind was screaming at him to go back to the sub, and take the dog back too, because why not, and just leave, but no. Edward pressed forward, the lazy bulldog at his side, headed straight for the Green Zone, to the GCPD, where he knew Oswald would be.

 

And there he was, along with Jim and Harvey Bullock, ever the odd team, the three of them. Well, four, counting him.

«Thirty-one.» alright, now he was literally giving numbers.

Jim and Harvey looked shocked to see him there, Oswald turned to face him as soon as he heard his voice, and the smile he gave him was the brightest he'd ever seen.

They were about to go to war, this probably wasn't a good moment to be feeling the butterflies in his stomach. There were more pressing matters than his feelings for Oswald, but when he saw the way Oswald was looking at him – so grateful, hopeful, proud of him for showing up – their impeding probable death seemed so far away, and _that_. That smile, that was all that mattered.

Edward lied and said he was forced to stay because the submarine needed two pilots, but he could tell by the faces he was met with that nobody believed him, even if they were gracious enough to at least pretend they did, and save him the embarrassment to be so easily exposed for all of his vulnerability.

Jim and Harvey begun to walk out, walking past him, and Oswald started to do so too, but Ed stopped him, tapping him on the shoulder and nodding towards the inside of the room, to signal him to stay just a moment longer.

«We need to talk about something important, first.»

Edward begun, not the strongest start, pretty vague, but he would work his way there.

Maybe. Or maybe not, since he just stopped talking after that. Oswald could clearly tell he was hesitating, stalling. He tried to be merciful and end his suffering there.

«We can talk after.» Oswald offered.

«What if there isn't an “after”?» Ed blurted out, almost instantly regretting it.

Oswald gave him a pitiful look, stretching his lips towards one side and slight tilting his head.

«I don't want to hear that kind of talk, of course there's gonna be an “after”. And we are gonna have all the time for you to tell me whatever it is you want to tell me. Now, we should go.»

Ed looked genuinely in distress, Oswald must have noticed, because he paused.

«Alright, then, tell me.»

Edward still said nothing. He couldn't help it, it wouldn't come out.

«Ed... what is it?» Oswald pressed him, his brow furrowing ever so slightly in a show of concern.

Ed thought he was going to say it now. This was it, this was the moment. There goes nothing. He opened his mouth. He must have looked like a fish.

Oswald stared at him, moving imperceptibly his focus from one eye to the other, expectation and concern evident, it almost looked like he knew what Ed was going to say. Maybe he wanted him to say it, or maybe not. Maybe he was simply waiting for Ed to talk, not waiting for one thing in particular, but he could continue waiting, because it wasn't coming.

Ed closed his mouth and swallowed, his eyes tearing up.

Oswald exhaled, he looked almost disappointed, but maybe he was just annoyed and Ed was reading too much into it. But then again, maybe not. God, what a mess.

Oswald shook his shoulders with one last sigh and gave him an encouraging look to follow him as he started to walk away. Jim and Harvey were still waiting for them outside, looking back at them with curiosity, and patience on the verge of running thin.

Out of nowhere, while he watched Oswald turn around and walk away, seeing his shoulders get away from him, Ed reached out and grabbed his arm.

Oswald gasped in surprise, but Ed barely had any time to register his stunned expression, because he pulled him closer and closed his eyes right before kissing him.

A moment later, he felt Oswald's hands reach for his face and gently cup his jaw. So he moved his hand from Oswald's arm to his side, and did the same with the other on the other side, pulling him even closer. It didn't last long, but it felt much longer. And then, way too soon, it was over. They both spontaneously pulled away, and opened their eyes. The first thing he saw was Oswald's blue eyes and he could have sworn he had never seen something so beautiful – God, he really was a lovestruck idiot, wasn't he? With all these sentimentalities and grand gestures... in a public place. Oh, right.

Ed turned around and as he did he saw a series of faces turn in other directions, pretending like everybody wan't watching until one second earlier.

Edward's eyes fell on Jim and Bullock, still standing outside, ready to go, only waiting for them, but apparently they had the time to stop and watch the show. Harvey stood with his arms crossed and he huffed out a quiet laugh, and Jim just gave both Ed and Oswald some sort of knowing-yet-reprimanding look that Ed couldn't decipher. Was he telling him this wasn't the place or the time for this? Or maybe that this had been a long time coming and he had been an idiot for waiting so long? Honestly, maybe both. Probably a bit of both, yeah, that sounded about right.

Ed looked back at Oswald, who had pulled back but hadn't really moved out his personal space yet, and he didn't look like he wanted to either. Oswald had a strange smile on his face, and he was looking at him with something that looked like genuine awe, with a hint of curiosity.

«What was the deal with that?» he asked, but he didn't look angry, or grossed out, or like he regretted it.

Still, Ed felt sheepish all of sudden.

«The words wouldn't come out. I still had to say it, somehow.» he explained. He still felt like he was being watched, and he wasn't entirely wrong.

He looked and noticed that Jim and Harvey, and probably some others, were still looking at them. They really had made themselves the stars of this show, huh? It wasn't his intention, and quite frankly he was starting to feel the embarrassment creeping up on him. Not that he felt embarrassed about kissing Oswald, that was probably the best decision he had made in... God, who knows how long. Still, feeling all those eyes pointed at what could had otherwise been a very tender and far more intimate moment... it didn't sit well with him. He so hoped that Oswald was right and there would be an “after”, because now that he knew what would be waiting for him on the other side, he couldn't wait to get there.

 

What happened after, everything, just, all of it – it became such a blur. They did it, they went to war, they shot at their enemies, they stood side by side while they did it.

Then, at some point, a grenade landed too close to them, and he didn't have the time to register what was happening, because before he could move, if he was gonna move at all in the state of panic he found himself in, Oswald did the unexpected and leaped over him, pushing him out of the way, and shielding him from the explosion with his own body. Bright light, deafening noise. The next thing he knew, Oswald was screaming and falling backwards. He crawled on top of him, suddenly coming back to his senses, and as soon as possible both of them got out of there, and somewhere along the way, Oswald was hastily cleaned up and given something to hold against his eye to try to stop the bleeding.

 

Later, when the world had begun to move at the right pace again, in a surprisingly quiet moment, they found themselves alone. Oswald was still pressing the gauze against his eye, he must have been in an impossible amount of pain.

Edward was still struggling to believe all of this had happened. Oswald had potentially saved his life, and gotten himself injured for him. To save _him_.

«Oswald, I'm so sorry. I saw the grenade and I froze-»

He didn't know where to start. He couldn't even imagine what could have happened if Oswald hadn't pushed him out of the way. For a moment, it flashed in front of his eyes what could have happened if Oswald's injury had been worse, or God forbid, fatal. He couldn't even think about it.

«Sshhhh! It's the least I could do.»

Oswald smiled at him. Oswald... had the nerve to smile at him. Through what he could only imagine must have been unbearable amounts of pain, pressing damp, bloodied gauze against his injured eye, shaking, barely standing from the shock, the pain and the blood loss. Oswald had chosen to smile at him. In all of this... Oswald was the one who was trying to make _him_ feel better. It flashed in front of his eyes, all the times he had witnessed Oswald brag and gloat to no end about any little good action he had ever made, trying to win some sympathy or someone's favor. He remembered the time he had refused to give him up to Barbara and how desperate he had sounded to prove that that meant he was a good person and that he deserved to live.

Edward almost teared up, remembering all of that, filled with regret, but especially comparing it to what had happened today, and what was right in front of him right now. Oswald really was a changed man.

«Tell me... is it that bad?» Oswald asked and before Ed could brace himself for it, he removed the gauze, just for a couple seconds, just enough time for Edward to get a peek at what had been of his right eye.

Edward Nygma, who had worked in forensics and had seen bodies in all states of decomposition, who had dissolved a body in acid at the CGPD while lying to his girlfriend's face about it, who had cut up said girlfriend in pieces and buried her in the woods... that Edward, gagged at the sight of the state of Oswald's eye. It wasn't that much the blood or the gore itself, but the still living, breathing body it was attached to, to cause that reaction in him. The mere thought that that was what used to be Oswald's eye that he was looking at, that he had just gotten a glimpse of the inside of his actual cranium, that was enough to turn his stomach and make him want to puke, but he pushed through.

«It's just a- a scr-»

After everything Oswald had done, on top of trying to comfort him in a situation like this, despite his state, this was the least he could do. He kept feeling sick to his stomach, both with pain for Oswald's predicament, and because of a fair amount of guilt. He swallowed all of it and put on a brave face anyway. He smiled.

«Just a scratch.» he lied.

He felt the instincts to start telling Oswald how he really felt, to voice it out loud, finally, to shower him in affection and to let him know in clear and honest words how much he mattered to him and how grateful he was – and how much he loved him. He decided against it. Now wasn't the time. They had survived, this was the beginning of the “after” Oswald had promised. First and foremost, Oswald was in need of medical care, so that was the top priority.

«Let's go, we need to get that checked out. Come on.»

He let Oswald grab onto his arm and he led him towards the first doctor he could find.

 

 

Then, the war had been won. It was over. Everything was back to _normal_... including some things that shouldn't have by that point. Ed and Oswald were left to commiserate themselves and bitterly ponder about what could have gone differently.

It turned out Nyssa had stolen their submarine with all of their gold inside. Now Ed really found himself wishing the lie he told had been true, that two people were required to pilot it, then maybe they would still have their treasure. On the bright side, he had luckily had the right foresight to take Oswald's dog with him and hide him until he would be safe. It had been a dangerous move, but otherwise it would have ended up whisked away on a submarine, and he really thought that on top of everything else, all he had lost, Oswald couldn't bear that too – Edward ruminated over this, while looking out of the window.

Oswald finished his angry rant. Ed couldn't really blame him for being so upset, and neither could he disagree with him.

«Back to square one. Common criminals.» he said, almost thinking out loud.

«We saved this city from certain damnation, but do we see any credit for our loyalty? Our selfless bravery? Of course not!»

Ed turned around. There he was, a glimpse of the old Oswald – back to yelling and stomping around when people didn't give him what he wanted and refused to recognize his merits... but this time he was right. Edward knew this, and he personally considered it outrageous that others would refuse to. Oswald had been truly brave... he had witnessed it first hand. Every time he looked at Oswald and he saw the bandage around his head, he was reminded of it. This is why, now more than ever, he felt nothing but disgust for _them_... all of them, the people of Gotham, the people at the GCPD... _Jim Gordon_.

«I don't want their thanks... or their _respect_.»  
They surely didn't deserve his.

Oswald watched him, hanging from his lips. He felt encouraged to continue, and he had a rant of his own to share with Oswald. Although, more than a rant, it was a rousing speech, really.

«You know what I felt standing shoulder to shoulder with those... _people,_ out there? Nothing. I... feel... absolutely _nothing_ for those drab, boring, people. That was _me_ once. Minimum wage, at a thankless job, at the GCPD – Yes, sir. No, sir. Thank you so much, sir. Picking up scraps from my masters' floor... shy, awkward... pathetic... _Ed_.»

Edward continued his speech, he walked towards the mirror and stopped in front of it. It was true, he wasn't at all invested in those people's lives, their well-being, their safety. That was not why he had decided to stay, or to fight.

Oswald still watched him with a curious eye, from his seat across the room.

«Common criminals, never again.»

He looked at himself in his three-piece green suit. An image he knew people would come once again to recognize and to _fear_.

«I've shown this city who I truly am once before, and will do it again. They will _bow_ to the Riddler. And they won't get up until _I_ permit them to!»

He clenched and shook his fists in front of the mirror, the leather of his gloves squeaking in the grip.

«Yes! You're right. Our accomplishments... erased. Our brilliant minds, underrated. If they had let me run this city the way I wanted to, we would not be in ruins now! I had the men, the money, the guns--»

Edward knew how much Gotham meant to Oswald, and everybody now knew it too. Oswald was right. This wasn't fair. But he knew who was to blame for all of this.

« _Gordon_ took them! Why? Because he still sees you as Fish Mooney's umbrella boy, and he _always_ will.»

He looked into Oswald's eyes across the room. He saw recognition, as Oswald fully understood those words to be true.

«Yes...» he replied, almost a whisper.

Ed nodded, then looked back at his own reflection.

«I only came back to help save this city so that I _-..._ » he paused, then corrected himself. It wasn't about himself alone anymore, «That _we,_ could take it for ourselves.»

Ed was being vague about this on purpose, but he knew intimately he did it for Oswald and only for him. He had been ready to leave, but he found out he had no real choice. Leaving Oswald behind wasn't an option.

«We would be strong together. No one could stop us.» Oswald said with a smile.

«Yes... absolutely.»

Oswald stood up and took a step closer.

«Let's make a pact, then. Here and now. We will take what we want, from whom we want, and we will suffer no fools.»

Edward looked at him, as if trying to find any hidden meaning behind those words, but he couldn't find it, or maybe, more simply, there wasn't one. Oswald meant what he was saying. Edward had to agree.

« _Together_.» he said with a timid smile. It felt odd saying that word now, after everything they had done in the last few weeks, it had a whole different meaning, almost a whole different taste in his mouth.

«Shall we shake on that?»

He said, putting his hand forward. Oswald stared at him for a moment, like he couldn't understand what he was doing.

«Please.» Edward thought he sensed a hint of impatience in his voice, but he couldn't be sure. It was well coated in a thick layer of fondness. «Ed, We are _partners_. A hug?»

«Partners...» Edward repeated that word under his breath, more to himself than anything, «Is that what we are?» he asked. Kind of a rhetorical question, he wasn't sure what kind of answer he was expecting. Oswald imperceptibly raised his eyebrows and shook his shoulders.

Ed huffed out a light chuckle.

«A hug it is.» he said and walked right into Oswald's arms, wrapping his around his shoulders.

Oswald hugged back. After a moment, Ed squeezed him tighter.

Oswald let out a gasp, as if he hadn't been expecting it. Maybe it was simply the release of all the tension that had been building up in his shoulders during that difficult time, finally being able to relax and be at peace in the arms of a person you know you can trust completely. Knowing you are safe.

Edward could understand it if that were the case, because that's how he knew he felt. He hadn't even realized his eyes had gotten misty. Damn it, he had really gotten emotional over this.

They stayed like that for a while, but eventually had to pull back. They looked at each other with a smile.

«Life begins anew.» said Oswald, his hands still casually hanging on Ed's upper arms.

«Shall we get to work?» he replied with an even bigger smile.

Oswald nodded, affectionately stroking his arms a little.

«But before we do that, I believe there's something I meant to tell you...»

Oswald gave him a confused look at that. He frowned for a second, then he seemed to catch up and he raised his eyebrows instead.

«Oh? I thought you already did?» he asked with a hint of humor in his voice – which sounded softer than Ed thought he had ever heard it sound.

«Not in words.»

He kept up his smile. He knew it was the right time. He had put it off for so long, but now there was no excuse anymore.

All he could think in that moment was how much he couldn't wait to say it for the first time, so after that big step, it would become normal and he could begin saying it casually, every time he felt like it, which, as it happens, he felt like it would be a lot.

«I love you, Oswald.»

His smile widened. Oswald's lips mirrored his, and his smile stretched from side to side, involving his eyes, still kinda misty too, just like his own, and he let out a shaky breath, as if he had been holding it in all this time.

Not that Ed couldn't understand the feeling. It almost didn't feel real for him either, that after everything they somehow had not only survived, but they had ended up there, where they were meant to be all along. _Together_.

«I love you too.»

 

**Author's Note:**

> This season gave me so many different inspirations to write, i don't want to promise anything, but i mean to write more. 5x12 is also very good and great and i'd love to write about husbands... This might turn into a series, but we'll see...
> 
> Anyway, of course, once again, i MADE A POINT to have Edward The Dog be taken along. Among all the things i refuse to accept from canon, Edward being stolen away along with the submarine seems to be the one that i just- won't let go.
> 
> Oswald deserved better than to have his dog stolen. I'm sorry, but what's right is right. Justice for Edward the dog!! He was a good boy!
> 
> Also, it genuinely made me sad to have to remove the almost-stabbing scene at the end... it was such a good scene and such a good parallel (Lee and Ed stabbing each other at the end of season 4? Martin's little drawing of stick figures stabbing each other in the back?? GOLD)... but due to the way i changed stuff around, it didn't fit the tone anymore. Oh well, R.I.P.


End file.
